Amid a string of attacks on pets and livestock, another Silverthorne resident is reporting an encounter with a mountain lion — though state wildlife officials aren’t so sure what he encountered was a wild cat.

David Simmons lives in the Ptarmigan Mountain neighborhood near where Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials have said they are tracking a mountain lion that may be behind recent attacks on pets and goats.

A little after 7:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 5, Simmons said he fed Moogley, a blue heeler and pitbull mix, and let the roughly 45-pound dog out. As he turned around to go make himself dinner, Simmons said he heard a loud “cat noise.”

When he doubled back, Simmons said he saw a mountain lion pinning Moogley down just outside the door. To stop the animal from attacking his pet, he said he jumped toward it.

“It was a split-second decision — a half second,” Simmons said. “The only thing I could think to do is — I took one leap forward with both my feet … and did as much as I could to come downward to get that cat off the dog.”

When Simmons made contact with the creature, he said it threw him off and he landed on the concrete patio before it dashed off. Upon returning to his feet, Simmons said he knew Moogley was okay because the dog was standing up looking at him.

Moogley had gashes on either side of his torso as well as some scratches by his legs and near his eye but was treated at an animal hospital, Simmons said. Calling the encounter “insane,” he said the whole thing is still sinking in.

“I got very lucky. There was no thought process there. You know what I mean?” Simmons said. “The cat’s got the dog. I have one split-second decision. ‘OK, cat, It’s you and I.'”

A day before Moogley was attacked, a mountain lion attacked a dog in Silverthorne neighborhood just a few miles away near the elementary school on Sunday night. That pet owner reported charging the mountain lion while shouting, sending the cat fleeing.

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But Colorado Parks and Wildlife district wildlife manager Alex Strasser said the state wildlife agency isn’t so certain that the creature that attacked Moogley on Monday night was a mountain lion. Strasser said he and another wildlife officer were over at Simmons house after the attack but didn’t find any mountain lion tracks.

Strasser said they did find what could be footprints from a coyote or domestic dog. He said while “it certainly still is possible” that a mountain lion was behind the attack, another animal was probably behind the attack, in his expert opinion.

“It doesn’t look like it was a lion,” Strasser said. “I’m not saying it wasn’t.”

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Regardless of whether a mountain lion or another creature was behind this most recent attack, pet owners living in the Colorado Rocky Mountains can take simple steps to protect their beloved animals from wildlife like mountain lions or coyotes.

People should not let their pets roam, especially around dusk or dawn, and keep them within eyesight or — better yet — on a leash, according to Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Pet owners should also not keep pet food outside, as this can attract wildlife.

The day after the attack, Moogley is celebrating his 7th birthday while recovering at the distillery where Simmons works. While wildlife officials are unsure what creature attacked Moogley, Simmons said he isn’t.

“It was a (expletive) cat. We can have that dispute all we want. (The wildlife official) wasn’t there,” Simmons said. “I’m still in shock. I had to jump on a mountain lion.”